canadian press:
The Canadian Press: Man dies after Smashing Pumpkins concert in possible mosh accident Man dies after Smashing Pumpkins concert in possible mosh accident
6 hours ago
VANCOUVER - A man has died at a Smashing Pumpkins concert in Vancouver in what may have been a mosh-pit or crowd-surfing accident.
Vancouver police say the concertgoer was unconscious when he was dragged out of the crowd and taken to security staff at the side of the PNE Forum on Monday night. Const. Howard Chow says first-aid personnel worked on the man until he was taken to St. Paul's Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
He told The Canadian Press Tuesday that police "determined there wasn't any foul play or suspicious circumstances involved," and the B.C. Coroner's Service is now investigating.
Chow said he can't confirm if a mosh-pit accident led to the death but admitted "it could be."
PNE media relations spokeswoman Laura Ballance said exhibition officials will await the results of the pathologist's work and toxicology tests "to make some educated statements about the situation."
"Staff and paramedics looked for some reason why this fellow was unconscious (and found) he didn't have a bump on his head, he wasn't bleeding," said Ballance.
"In fairness to family and friends of this individual we just don't want to start speculating," she said. "It's just a really, really sad ending to what started out to be probably a very fun night for a young man."
Ballance said the PNE's focus is also "on our staff who were deeply upset by the incident . . . and working with (police and the coroner) once we have some answers."
Moshing is a type of dance characterized by audience members aggressively pushing or slamming into each other, according to the online encyclopedia Wikipedia. The activity is frequently accompanied by stage diving, crowd surfing or headbanging.
"I can say on behalf of the PNE that (crowd surfing) is discouraged here, as it is at most of the large venues in North America," said Ballance.
"We have a three-strikes, you're out policy here, where if you're caught three times surfing, you're evicted from the event."
"But I mean these are adults, and they're going to do what they're going to do. We do our best to discourage it but ultimately you can't prevent it altogether."
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